At least eight militants were killed Saturday in a US drone attack in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region.

According to officials, the attack occurred at around 3 a.m. when an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fired two missiles on a compound in Dattakhel area, around 35 km west of Miranshah, Dawn online reported.

The dead militants belonged to the Punjabi Taliban faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the officials said.

This is the third such drone strike since the Pakistani military launched Operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan region to wipe out bases of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups.

On July 16, 20 militants were killed in Dattakhel area when four missile strikes from a UAV pounded a compound of suspected militants.

On July 10, a US drone killed at least six people in North Waziristan.

The Pakistan government has repeatedly condemned the US drone strikes, saying these were counter-productive and unacceptable as they violated the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The US drone strikes have been targeting militants in Pakistan since 2004.